Gambit and Rogue commission (Rachta Lin)

Rachta was an artist I discovered through CAF Live a couple years ago when I saw a Wonder Woman piece another collector had available for sale. She has a cute anime style, and her color work is just phenomenal. While I missed out on the WW piece, I was able to meet her at C2E2 in 2022 and get on her commission list (with a yearlong wait). The commission process with Rachta was different- she asked for the usual characters and background details, but she also asked what drew me to the characters and if there were any emotions/feelings I wanted the art to convey. Unsurprisingly, I identified the romantic nature of the relationship between Gambit and Rogue, and after a long wait, I finally have the art in hand, and it is just stunning to see (the scan is close but does not quite do the colors justice).

The colors were done with copic markers, but there are textures on the art that don't look like anything I've seen with copics before (like colored pencils). It's just a wonderful mix of vibrant colors and textures. I also really like the more intimate pose she went with here. I asked about her approach for this commission, and she said she was just trying to imagine what this couple in love would be like given their different personalities. I think she nailed it, and I'm thrilled with how this commission turned out.

Thanks, Darren and Rachta!